Time
by Smackalicious
Summary: John and Monica reveal their feelings after an accident puts Monica in the hospital.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: In this story, Monica and Barbara (John's ex-wife) don't know each other. It's my story – I'll do what I want with itJ

Time

Somewhere in Washington, D.C.

Monica Reyes' sedan pulled to a stop in front of a small split-level house. She turned the ignition off, unfastened her seat belt, and stepped from her car into the brisk night air. Gazing up, she smiled at a light on the second floor. He was home.

She jogged up the stairs leading to his front door, paused long enough to fix her hair and straighten her skirt, then knocked lightly on the door.

She heard a fumbling of locks, then the door was swung open. A leggy blonde with a serious face stood there frowning at Monica.

"Uh, uh, I'm sorry. I'll come back later," Monica stammered. She stumbled as she turned, and walked quickly from the building. The blonde shrugged with a bored look on her face and shut the door again.

"Who was that?" John Doggett emerged from the bathroom, drying his sandy hair with a towel.

"I don't know. Some woman. She said she'd come back later."

John rushed to the window in time to see Monica jumping into her car and squealing onto the street.

"Dammit, that was Monica!" he yelled, slamming his hand on the window.

"Well, sorry if I got in your way. It's not like I would be involved with you again," the blonde responded.

"She doesn't know that you're my ex," John stated, grabbing his coat. "Damn you. I've got to catch her." He ran out the door before his ex-wife could ask her question.

Meanwhile, Monica was trying to come to terms with what she just saw. "I can't believe I was so stupid," she sobbed to herself. "Now I know why he's so reluctant to do anything after work."

She continued to beat herself up, so much so that she never saw the train.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: In this story, Luke wasn't cremated. He was buried.

St. Mary's Hospital – Washington, D.C.

"I got here as fast as I could," Dana Scully announced, running straight to where John sat. "When did this happen?"

John didn't answer right away, so Scully touched his shoulder gently. As he turned to her, she saw his eyes were bloodshot from crying.

"Oh, John," she murmured.

"It's all my fault," he confessed brokenly. "She came to see me, and Barbara answered the door. I had no idea…"

"Wait a minute," Scully interrupted. "Who is Barbara?"

"Barbara is my ex-wife. She came to discuss flowers for Luke's grave. I never expected her to think I was involved with her." He buried his face in his hands in shame.

"What difference would that make…" Scully started before the realization dawned on her. "How long have you…"

"Too long. I have to tell her. If she doesn't make it, I don't know what I'd do." He sighed and continued. "I'd never be able to live with myself."

Scully patted his hand reassuringly and rose to talk to a passing doctor.

John also stood up, but chose to see how Monica was doing. He slowly walked towards her room, stretching his legs. When he reached her room, he paused before opening the door. An older man and woman were standing by her bed, talking softly.

"How is she doing?" John asked, startling them both.

"Are you John?" the woman asked, hope gleaming in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm Monica's partner," he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"We're her parents," her father chimed in. "We were worried, so we came to see her, but when she's recovered, we'll know she's in good hands. She'd always talk about you, and we knew she would be safe with someone like you around."

John felt the tears welling up again, but knew he had to be stong in front of Monica's parents.

"That means a lot to me," he managed. "I wish I could've prevented this. I put myself completely at blame for what happened, and I really don't think I could handle it if something happened to her." He looked her parents straight in the eye and continued. "She means a lot to me. More than she'll ever know."

A nurse walked into the room, announcing that only direct family members were allowed.

"I should go, then. Tell me if anything changes," John said, reluctantly backing away from the bed.

Monica's mother had different plans, however.

"Mr. Doggett," the nurse called before he could leave, "Ms. Reyes mother has informed me of your situation. I'm sorry. You may stay if you like." She filed out of the room with her creaky cart rolling behind her.

"What did you tell her?" John asked, a confused look on his face.

"Well, I hope you don't get angry with me, but I told her you and Monica are engaged to be married," her mother confessed, biting her lip and wringing her hands.

"Anything so I could see her," he quickly replied. There was no way he'd pass up the opportunity for people to think he was engaged to Monica!

He was in love with her, that much was obvious to everyone. She was in love with him as well, but for some reason, they never told each other. If they would, they'd be so much happier.

But, John would have to wait for Monica to recover before he could tell anyone the depth of his feelings. Until then, he would have to keep a steady vigil by her bedside, rarely leaving except to eat, sleep, and use the restroom.

On the fourth day she was in the hospital, Scully came to check on Monica, only to find John asleep at her bedside, his hand gently encasing hers. She tiptoed to where John was, tapping him lightly on the shoulder.

He awoke with a start, asking frantically, "Did something happen? Is Monica alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. I just thought maybe you should go home. You know, take a shower, change clothes…You'd feel a lot better," Scully responded.

"I can't leave the hospital. What if something happens with Monica? I want to be here, Scully. You more than anybody should know what it's like." He pleaded with her using his eyes.

Scully could see there was no way he was leaving now, so she volunteered, "Well, then, I'll go to your house and bring you back a change of clothes, if you give me your key."

"Thanks, Scully, it means a lot to me," John thanked profusely. "I'm sure everyone suspects my reasons for staying here, but thanks for not telling Skinner."

"I have my reasons," she agreed, thinking of Mulder. They had went through the same situation. Everyone cooperated with them, so she figured she'd better cooperate with John and Monica – well, John for now. "Anyway, I'm going to get going. Your key, please?"

"Oh, right." John fumbled in his coat pocket, found his keys and handed them to Scully. "This is the house key. You do know which house is mine, don't you?" He grinned at her, knowing that she knew all too well where he lived.

She rolled her eyes at him and walked out of the room, smiling to herself. As she reached the elevator, she remembered a question she was going to ask him and walked back to Monica's room.

Once she reached the room, however, she decided the question could wait and headed back towards the elevator. When she had looked in the door of Monica's room, she had spied John sitting on the bed, brushing Monica's hair back and gently caressing her face. He had leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead, then laid his own head on her chest. He was happy just to hear her breathing.

As Scully stepped into the elevator and pushed the down button, she wiped an escaped tear from her face. Seeing John like that reminded her of how desperate she was to see Mulder. She hoped he was still alive and well, and would be able to come home to her and their son.


	3. Chapter 3

Doggett's Apartment

Scully made her way to John's house, scanning the house numbers as she went. Reaching his house, she stuck the key in the lock, only to have the door swing open freely.

She automatically reached for her gun, not knowing who or what had snuck into his house. She slowly crept into the living room, pointing her gun towards the ceiling, and scanning the house with a watchful eye.

A creaking coming from the kitchen made her jump, and she yelled out, "Freeze! FBI!"

Barbara appeared from the kitchen, hands held up in fright. "Wh-what did I do? I swear, John let me in here!"

"Who are you?" Scully asked, lowering her gun.

"Barbara, John's ex-wife," Barbara replied, still frightened.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I really am," Scully apologized profusely. "I came here to get some of John's things for him."

"This Monica woman," Barbara pondered. "Is she okay? I mean, I feel partially at fault for what happened."

Scully simply gave an icy look, and answered, "Well, she'll be okay as long as John is there with her. Now, where is John's bedroom?"

Barbara paled and meekly pointed to a small alcove off the kitchen. Scully brushed past her and quickly walked to the bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

St. Mary's Memorial Hospital – Washington, D.C.

When Scully returned to the hospital, she found John pacing the hallway outside Monica's room. She rushed up to him to question him.

"What's going on, John?" she asked nervously. "Why aren't you with Monica?"

"The nurse had to run some tests. She said she'd only be a minute and it seems more like a goddam year," he replied angrily.

"It'll be okay, John," Scully tried to calm. "She'll be out in a minute, and you can go back in."

"What if it's not okay, Scully? What if there's some horrible result to her test she's not okay? What if she never wakes up? She'll never know how much she means to me." He sat down and buried his face in his hands.

"Don't be so cynical, John. I saw her charts and she's going to be fine."

Just then, a nurse burst from the room, exclaiming, "Agent Doggett, come quick!"

John's face paled, and he rose and sprinted to Monica's room, expecting to see her convulsing off the bed. Scully rushed after him, equally worried.

As he burst into the room, his look of fear turned into one of sheer happiness. Monica had woke up. Scully breathed a sigh of relief and announced, "I think I'll come back later."

Once Scully and the nurse had left, John shut the door and walked over to Monica's bed.

"John," Monica managed, "I'm so glad you're here."

"I never left," he replied with a smile. He paused, took her hand, then looked her in the eyes and continued. "Monica, I was so scared. Scared you would die, scared you wouldn't wake up, but mostly scared that you'd never know how much you meant to me."

Monica made as if to interrupt him, but he put a finger to her lips as a sign not to. "Let me talk. If I don't say this now, I never will. You mean more to me than anybody could ever wish to. I don't know why I fought it for so long. I was in denial, but now I've changed. Now I can say for certain that I love you, Monica, with all my heart."

Monica eyes teared up, and she whispered, "Oh, John, I love you, too. I wanted to tell you for so long, but I was convinced you didn't feel the same." She tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead. John took the opportunity to pat Monica's back and then pulled her into a hug.

"I'll never let you go again, Monica," he whispered into her hair. His moist breath against the nape of her neck sent shivers down her spine and she closed her eyes in happiness.

"John, I have just one request of you," she murmured breathily.

"Anything," he muttered back.

"Kiss me." Her eyes shone with joy and John's usually cold exterior melted under her gaze. He gently braced her head and moved closer to her, their breath mingling. The kiss started out gently, but grew more passionate and fiery as the seconds passed. Finally, John reluctantly pulled away, brushing Monica's hair behind her ear.

A light tapping on the door broke them from their reverie, startling them both. They both looked towards the door, where Assistant Director Skinner was standing.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he said in a voice that said he knew he was. "I just heard Monica was awake, and I came to see for myself. Now that I see she's alright, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing." He turned to leave, but felt a hand on his shoulder before he could go.

"Sir, I hope this isn't going to make things awkward or difficult," John tried explaining. "We know how to handle ourselves, and you don't have to worry about walking in on anything inappropriate at work."

"I had the same problem with Mulder and Scully," Skinner replied knowingly. He sighed, scratched his head, and continued. "As much as I don't like going against the Bureau, I'm not going to stand by and watch people being miserable because of some stupid rule."

"Thank you, sir," Monica gushed warmly. "You don't know how much this means to us." She gazed at John, her eyes glowing.

"Like I said, I'm not going to sacrifice your happiness. But, remember, if anyone catches you, you're out of the Bureau."

"We know, and we don't want to live without either each other or the Bureau, so we'll be extra careful," John promised.

"You better be. I have to get going. It's nice to see you're better."

"It's nice to be better." Skinner walked out of the room, and John sat down, taking Monica's hand. "Especially now that you're here."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere, so get used to it." He leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss.

THE END


End file.
